Tied Down
by Sese Daniels
Summary: This morning, I woke up engaged to be married in three days. Now? I'm single, being sued by my ex maid of honor for assault, and I'm moving in with a nice guy I just met today in my uncle's bar. I'm Halle Mitchell, a hot-tempered bounty hunter who is suddenly in need of a lawyer for that pesky assault charge. Good thing that nice guy I was talking about earlier is one.
1. Chapter 1

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

"NO WAY, LADY! YOU'RE CRAZY!"

When a person is summoned to appear in court and a bail bond agency posts their bail for them, and then that person skips out and doesn't show up for whatever reason, they are labeled as something called an FTA. An FTA is a, "failure to appear," and these so-called, "skips," are reported to the bail bond agency that put up the money to bail them out of prison in the first place. What does all of this mean, you ask?

Well, these skips one way or another expose themselves to the wrath of bond recovery agents. These people are not quite cops, because they're not bound by the rules and regulations that cops are, and more often than not they are very loose cannon and have unconventional methods of capturing FTAs. You may also know these people as something called "bounty hunters."

"SLOW DOWN!"

"HELL NO!"

A bounty hunter's job is to capture FTAs and turn them over to the police. In return, they get paid ten percent of the bond that was posted. So, if a bail bond agency posted a half a million dollar bond for a skip who left town, and the bounty hunter got them back... They were easily looking at a fifty thousand dollar payout just for that one FTA.

And a bounty hunter was exactly who little miss Halle Mitchell was.

"JUST GIVE IT UP ALREADY!"

"UH-UH! THERE AIN'T NO WAY, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

She was the most _insane_ twenty-six-year-old woman you would _ever_ meet, and she was not necessarily insane in the "good" way. She had some serious anger management issues, a hot temper that usually resulted in violence, and she lacked propriety in every way possible. This woman was _not_ lady-like _at all_ , usually dressing in black leather vests and high heeled biker boots that matched her long, curly black hair. One of her lavender colored eyes were nearly concealed by the curly bangs swept across the side of her face, and her dark hair just made her pale skin stand out that much more.

A black leather, sleeveless, zip-up vest with a popped collar, black jeans she could run in, and punk, platform, four-inch heeled, black leather boots that came up to her knees were the clothes Halle was wearing today. Her hands were covered by fingerless leather gloves, and she wore a pair of black sunglasses over her eyes that made her appear to be even more intimidating. She had one pistol strapped to her right thigh in a holster, a pair of handcuffs looped on her belt, and a switch blade was resting in her pocket just in case. She didn't bother with purses, because it was inconvenient to carry one around when she was chasing down skips.

Which is exactly what she was doing now.

"HEY! WOULD YOU JUST STOP RUNNING ALREADY!?"

"SCREW YOU!"

"Ugh, for the love of..." Halle cursed to herself quietly as she struggled to catch her breath, running after this guy as fast as she could down this back alley.

The FTA she was chasing today was just something she picked up last minute, since she was _technically_ supposed to be off work today. This low-life skipped his court date for a domestic violence charge, and Halle was just _waiting_ for the asshole to give her a reason to punch him square in the face for making his battered and beat up, soon-to-be-ex-wife waste her time just sitting there in a courtroom for an hour where he _surely_ wouldn't show.

The low-life turned a corner, and Halle followed suit. She started to recognize the road she was now chasing this guy down as the one that lead straight to Kunian, her uncle's bar. She was actually _supposed_ to be meeting him there today to introduce her fiancé Makoto Igarashi to her parents, but...

Well, that just wasn't happening.

Meanwhile, down the road inside Kunian...

It was a nice-looking, freshly renovated Japanese-style bar owned by none other than Kunihiko Aikawa, the CEO of , a famous IT company in Japan. He was thirty-five years old, five-foot seven-inches tall, and a former kids baseball coach. He always dressed in casual clothes and a tacky, beige fedora, and he had long, curly black hair that reached his shoulders. Overall, he had a very "surfer dude" sort of look to him; you would never expect him to be a fancy CEO of an IT company like . Being the owner of Kunian the sports bar suited him much more.

Five guys sat at the bar's counter, watching the newest Long Island's baseball game on the TV overhead. Among them were a selfish, but caring physical science college professor, a silly comedian, a sexy, yet dominant screenwriter, a devoted lawyer who was the older-brother type, and a calm and collected researcher.

The selfish, but caring physical science college professor was named Yamato Kougami. He was twenty six, and was the tallest of the guys, standing at a height of five feet and ten inches tall. His spiky, short red hair and cold, brusque personality and mannerisms caught the attention of several women over the years, whose affections were often never returned. It's not like Yamato was a misanthrope and hated people or anything, he just thought that a majority of the people around him were idiots.

The silly comedian? He was known as Yuta Kajima, part of a comedy duo called Fukumimi. He was twenty six, five-foot six-inches tall, and he had the curliest, short, light brown hair you would _ever_ lay eyes on. You would never be bored having a conversation with this guy, given that he would always be cracking jokes left and right.

Takamasa Saeki was the unforgettable, sexy and dominant screenwriter. The handsome, twenty-seven-year-old man with short black hair who stood at a height of five feet and eight inches could dazzle and win the heart of any woman he smiled at. He was quite the player, _and_ a bit of a flirt, but most women found that side of him to be charming. Most.

A devoted lawyer named Takao Maruyama who acted as an older brother to almost everyone he knew sat at the bar too. Five-foot nine-inches tall and twenty-seven years old, this big puppy for a guy was one of the sweetest people you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. He was your classic likable, nice guy that everyone got along with easily, although once you really got to know him, you would learn that he was also the type to set his sights on something and never let it go. He was devoted, determined, and never gave up on people.

And lastly, we had the calm, quiet, Ren Shibasaki, who was the researcher tuning out the loud chatter from the rest of the bunch. He was twenty five, five-foot eight-inches tall, and he was obviously not from Japan. He had short blonde hair, and he had this faraway, distant look in his eyes that made him seem unfriendly, when in reality he was just a man of few words who took a while to warm up to you.

The five of them were an odd bunch that you wouldn't assume to be associated with one another, but on the contrary, they were all childhood friends. That had met each other on the little league baseball team they joined coached by Kunihiko, and they had all stayed friends ever since. They also kept in touch with Kunihiko over the years as they grew older, and all six of them still regularly played on an adult baseball team together present day. Kunian, Kunihiko's beloved sports bar, was a cherished hang out spot for the guys, and they often drank beer and watched baseball games on TV as they caught up with each other.

However, that lovely hang out session today would soon be interrupted by a rather...er, catastrophic, _grandiose_ scene caused by none other than Halle Mitchell.

The calm atmosphere inside of Kunian was suddenly disrupted by the bar's doors being slammed open with great force by a rather shifty-looking man, who kept glancing over his shoulder in a paranoid manner as he ran into the bar. The five guys, plus Kunihiko and the bar's manager, all stared at him in alarm as this strange man entered the rather empty bar in such an alarming way.

The shifty guy bolted across the bar with great speed, knocking over a couple of tables and chairs as he did so. It all happened so fast, and the guys could do nothing but watch as he made a b-line for the back door to the bar. But, before he could escape, he was suddenly clothes-lined by someone sticking out their arm and catching him right in the neck, resulting in knocking the guy on his back onto the floor. _Hard_.

"Oof!" The shifty guy cried out as his back slammed against the hardwood floor, and he squinted his eyes as he looked up at the fluorescent lighting above him.

"Going somewhere?" Halle stepped out from the darkness of the back door's doorframe, retracting her arm back to her side. She casually leaned up against the wall as she continued talking with the police operator on the phone she had called just a moment ago, nonchalantly looking down at the shifty guy on the floor, who was squirming under her gaze. "Dispatch please? It's Mitchell. I've got an FTA here, and I'm requesting a transfer of custody."

"Wh-wha..." The shifty guy stared up at Halle in complete horror, the terrifying-looking biker chick dressed in all black leather. "Y-you crazy bitch!"

Halle stared down at him, completely bored and disinterested as she hung up the phone. "Crazy bitch...? Yeah, I'm pretty sure you called me that already. Geez, you really need some new material..." Her sarcasm naturally rolled off her tongue as she bitterly glared down at him.

Kunihiko slapped his forehead and slowly dragged his hand down his face. "Geez, Halle... I haven't seen you in four months, and _this_ is how you come and say hello?"

Halle's dark and terrifying demeanor completely shattered as she batted her eyelashes to her uncle with a bashful smile stretched across her face. "Sorry! I got a little caught up chasing after _this_ low-life."

The five guys all just darted their eyes back and forth between Halle and Kunihiko, immensely confused as to what the heck was going on. Who the hell was she, and how did she know Kunihiko? They seemed pretty familiar with each other, and they found that to be strange, since Kunihiko never mentioned or introduced her to them.

Kunihiko just sighed sharply as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, just... Try _not_ to wreck the whole bar? Please?"

Halle snorted derisively, throwing her head back a little as she redirected her glower back to the shifty guy who had scrambled up to his feet at this point. "I'll try. This'll all be over in a minute, anyways."

"Wh-what!?" The shifty guy stared at Halle in terror, shaking a little as he backed away from her. "G-get the hell away from me!"

"Sorry, can't do that." Halle pulled the cuffs from her belt and balanced them on one finger, teasingly swinging them back and forth. "You're coming with me. You skipped out on your court date."

"Hell no! As if I'd be taken down by a chick like you!" The shifty guy suddenly pulled a switch blade from his pocket, and he began swinging it around crazily.

The five guys all became alert now that this man was swinging a knife around, and aiming it at this woman named Halle that Kunihiko apparently knew. Takao and Yamato instantly jumped up and got ready to intervene, but Halle stopped them by extending her hand out towards them.

"Don't try to be a hero." She warned them with a little smirk on her face, not even looking at them as she held out her hand to stop them.

"Guys, get back here." Kunihiko grabbed both of their arms, pulling them back into sitting positions in their bar stools. "Don't worry. She's a pro; she knows what she's doing."

"Drop the knife, you scumbag." Halle chuckled darkly, slowly and menacingly taking a daring step closer to him. "Trust me, you _really_ don't want to piss me off today, of all days." She rested her hand on her right leg where her pistol was, raising as eyebrow at the shifty guy as she waited for him to do something. "Don't make me use this."

"D-don't come any closer!" He jabbed the knife in her direction, making his threat that more serious as he nervously looked back and forth between her gun and her lavender eyes. "I _will_ use this, lady!"

"Oh, I have no doubt that you will." Halle suddenly stopped in her tracks, confidently showering him with her malevolent glare. "It's just a matter of whether or not I can get it out of your hands first."

"Wha..." The shifty guy tried to say something in response to that, but Halle was too quick, and he froze mid-sentence.

Halle lunged forward and grabbed onto the hand that held the knife, suddenly falling forwards with the man in her grasp. She smirked evilly the whole time that she twisted the knife from his hands, and as she stopped their fall by planting her feet on the wooden flooring, the man pushed his knife towards her, gently grazing her arm with the blade. Halle winced as she finally pulled the knife from his grip, and she immediately slapped her other hand over the cut on her left shoulder. Halle delivered one swift kick to the shifty guy's abdomen, sending him flying backwards into one of the bar's tables.

As he crashed to the floor, Halle pulled her hand back from her bleeding wound and clicked her tongue derisively at the sight of it. "Aw, man... So much for getting out of this unscathed." She bitterly sighed to herself, and she power walked over to where the man lied collapsed in a pile of broken pieces of wood that was once a table. "You know, I really _hate_ wife beaters like you." She suddenly grabbed at his shirt collar and lifted him up from the rubble, and she thrust him back into the counter just a foot away from where the crowd of guys stood. She crossed over to him and slapped the cuffs on his wrists that she held tightly behind his back, and she slammed his face down _hard_ onto the bar's countertop. "You think you have all of this power, and that just suddenly gives you the right to smack your wife around as you please. So, I have to ask, how does it feel to have that 'power' taken away by a _woman?"_ She lowered her face to smirk evilly at him, scaring the guy even more.

"Augh!" The shifty man spit up a little blood as he winced from having his face suddenly slammed onto a wooden counter. "You bitch! This is police brutality!"

"Police brutality? Hah!" Halle just laughed sardonically, adjusting the cuffs around his wrists to be _painfully_ tight. "You see, that doesn't apply to me, seeing as though I'm _not_ a cop."

"...whoa." Yuta, the comedian, stared at the young woman who was arresting the shifty guy just a foot away from him in shock.

Saeki seemed quite impressed by her ass-kicking skills, feeling rather inspired by them, actually. "I should make this into a screenplay..."

Yamato and Takao just exchanged glances with each other, not knowing how to properly respond to what they just witnessed, and Ren just stared at Halle in bewilderment, silent as usual.

Suddenly, a slow clap filled the quiet bar, and Halle looked up to see Kunihiko smiling at her. "Nice job, kiddo! You alright?" He worriedly glanced at the bleeding cut on her arm, biting his lip nervously.

Halle just sighed sharply as her expression faltered. "It just hurts as much as I am annoyed..." She looked over at the manager, the calm, forever quiet and serious guy who actually ran the bar and made sure Kunihiko, in all his recklessness, didn't run it into the ground. "Hey, Mr. Manager. Toss me an apple?" The manager simply nodded his head and tossed one of the apples from the basket resting on the counter to Halle, who caught it easily in one of her hands. She instantly shoved it into the shifty guy's mouth with great force, smirking all the way. "There. Now _hopefully_ you will shut up. I was really starting to get sick of listening to you _talk."_

"Mmf MMPH!" The shifty guy verbally protested, trying to twist himself from Halle's vice grip.

Kunihiko just cracked up laughing, not at all surprised by Halle's bitter bedside manner. "Geez, don't you think you were a little rough with this one?"

Halle darted her gaze back and forth between the shifty guy and Kunihiko before she suddenly just shook her head no. "Nah. This one really pissed me off; he's lucky I didn't do _worse."_

The shifty guy's eyes widened in terror as he tried to imagine what this crazy woman could possibly consider to be "worse."

Moments later, a very exhausted detective all too familiar to Halle came rushing into the bar, very out of breath. He took one look at Halle and the shifty guy she had in custody and just sighed. "Mitchell..."

"Hey, Patrick!" Halle greeted Detective Patrick Burke with a giant smile on her face, and she waved to him casually.

He just narrowed his eyes at the energetic young woman and shook his head, obviously holding no sense of respect for those in her occupation. "I didn't realize _you_ were the one who called in the FTA..."

"Pfft." Halle scoffed a little at the grumpy look on the tall and lanky brunette's face. "What, aren't you glad to see me?"

Patrick just glared at the woman with curly black hair as he deadpanned, "no," and promptly jerked the shifty guy from her grasp. "...And I'll take him off your hands."

"Thanks, Pat!" Halle winked at him and gave him a little salute, purposely trying to piss him off, _and_ succeeding.

A vein bulged from his forehead as he instantly turned to leave. "You'll get your cut of the bond by the end of the week."

Halle just laughed heartily as she watched the grumpy detective leave the bar. "Always nice seeing you again!"

The manager just shook his head at Halle's silly behavior, and he silently called her attention by patting a spot on the counter with his hand, ushering her to sit down. As Halle instantly complied and sat up on the counter in the middle of the group of guys, the manager brought out a first aid kit and began to tend to her wound.

Halle found herself sitting in the middle of the group of bewildered-looking men she had yet to meet, and she glanced at them all sheepishly. "Uh...hi!"

Kunihiko laughed a little and shook his head, and he came up behind Halle at the bar and clapped her roughly on the shoulder. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Halle Mitchell."

Yuta was at a loss for a response as his expression slowly cracked into a broad grin. He would be lying if he said he _didn't_ find this all amusing. "What... What just happened?"

Halle chucked a little as she began to explain. "Oh, sorry about that. That was me apprehending the most recent skip that I was chasing." She suddenly paused, holding out her hand for him to shake. "It's nice to meet all of you! I'm Halle Mitchell, and I'm a bond recovery agent."

"...a _what?"_ Yamato drew his head back in shock, staring at the weird girl strangely.

Kunihiko just rolled his eyes. "She's a bounty hunter, guys."

"Ohhhhh..." All of the guys seemed to exhale the same thought aloud as they looked at her.

Halle smirked wryly at Kunihiko. "You say that like it's a _bad_ thing."

* * *

 **Hello, and welcome to my newest Voltage Inc fanfiction: My Forged Wedding! I've also had this in my drafts for awhile, and until recently I've had writer's block for how I wanted to start this XD unlike my other Voltage Inc stories, this one will be mainly based off of Takao's route in the free version, which will make this a little harder for me to do XD no worries, it'll just take me longer to update and figure out how the heck I'm going to change the original story to fit my bat-shit crazy MC. Yeah, I definitely have to break up the prologue/intro into probably four or five chapters XD it's too long! This isn't even HALF of it, but I had to stop right here, since we're nearing like...4000 words XD**

 **So, in this story, my MC Halle Mitchell is an insane bounty hunter XD... Come on, don't tell me you don't love her already. She's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself! In the original free version, your fiancé DOES dump you last-minute and you're left at Kunian waiting to meet your parents and have to somehow explain to them that you just got dumped, and the MC is this sad little girl who quit her job and was currently moving out of her apartment, so she had nowhere to live. Yeah, I changed that a little bit. I don't like when Voltage's MCs are these boring Mary Sues who get walked all over by everyone XD my story will be a little...er, different.**

 **I promise you guys, you will never be bored with this story, and you're going to love it XD XD XD a crazy bounty hunter paired up with the nice-guy lawyer Takao? Trust me. You guys will love this XD...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own My Forged Wedding, or its characters.**

 **Claimer: I own my MC Halle and any changes in the plot.**

 **Read, review, and enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you alright?" Kunihiko looked pretty worried as he nervously flitted around Halle, watching the manager carefully pour peroxide over her cut.

"Ouch!" Halle hissed a little as the chemical came into contact with her open wound, and she instinctively gripped the counter she was sitting on tighter. "Yeah, I'm fine... Don't worry."

"Are you hitting on her, Kuni?" Saeki, the man in the white button-up shirt, smirked over at him seriously. "That's no way for a bar owner to behave."

Kunihiko's eyes seemed to widen at that teasing remark. "Me, hitting on her?" He shook his head no immediately. "You've got it all wrong, Saeki. She's my..."

Not waiting for him to finish, Saeki brought his face right up to Halle's, inspecting her curiously. Seeing her instinctively flinch away and shoot him a weird look, he let out a laugh. "Wow, she's a looker. Is she your girlfriend?"

"What?" Kunihiko's jaw fell open in comprehension, shocked to the bone by the screenwriter's blunt question.

Halle snorted a little, staring at Saeki curiously. "Uh, no..."

"Hey, Yamato. Come check this girl out." Saeki called out to the red-haired guy dressed in the black suit at the end of the bar.

"What do you want?" The man called Yamato narrowed his eyes at Saeki, unamused as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Looks like the ass-kicking bounty hunter is Kuni's new girlfriend." Saeki grinned wryly as he turned his head back to Halle, looking her up and down.

Halle just scoffed a little, and she rolled her eyes as the manager wrapped her wound in gauze and medical tape. "What? I already told you, it's not like that."

"Oh yeah?" Yamato completely ignored her as he dismissed Saeki completely. "I don't really care, honestly. I'm more interested in the game." He looked back at the TV screen, already losing interest. "It's getting really good."

Saeki just scoffed at Yamato's typical disinterest. "She just came crashing through the doors, beat up some guy, obliterated a table, and you're _still_ not interested?" He stared at Yamato in disbelief as Halle sweatdropped at the sight of the obliterated table in the center of the bar. "Well, I care, just so you know." Saeki turned back to Halle, giving her all of his undivided attention.

"Wow, you're forward." Halle amusedly drew her head back a little in disgust, being careful not to fall off of the counter as she wore an awkward grin on her face.

"...hey..." Ren, the blonde guy who had been quietly sitting off to the side, suddenly got up and joined the crowd around Halle.

"What do you want, Ren?" Kunihiko looked over at the blonde guy, curious as to what was so important that the socially awkward guy actually joined in on a conversation.

"It's almost..." Just as he started talking, someone else jumped into the conversation.

"Is this girl related to you somehow, Kuni?" Behind Ren, another man dressed in a grey three-piece suit was smiling gently. His short brown hair dusted at his smiling eyes gently as he flashed Halle a welcoming grin.

"Wow! Leave it to the lawyer to figure everything out." Kunihiko laughed in amusement, clapping the man on the shoulder.

The man, whose name was Takao, looked down at the floor a little unsure of himself. "That didn't exactly sound like a compliment..."

"Oh, you're related?" Yamato jumped back into the conversation, just now finding it interesting.

"I thought so..." Saeki smirked a little, looking Halle up and down once more. "I knew she wasn't your type." He then glanced over at the lawyer, curiously looking him in the eye. "But, Takao, how did you know they're family?"

"He was talking about it when the three of us went out for drinks yesterday. He said a female relative was visiting tomorrow." Yuta looked over, interested in this conversation.

And before she knew it, Halle was in the center of these guys, who were all crowding around her. Who exactly _were_ they? Her uncle's friends...?

"Oh, yeah..." Kunihiko reached back to grab the back of his neck, completely oblivious to Halle's flusteredness as he thought back on something. "Come to think of it, I might have said something to Yuta and Takao..."

"You don't remember?" Yuta dropped his jaw, shocked by Kunihiko's forgetfulness. "You didn't seem _that_ drunk..." The comedian played it off with a laugh, flashing him a mischievous grin. "God, getting old is so scary!"

"I'm not old!" Kunihiko shouted comprehensively, looking down at the counter awkwardly as he vehemently denied it.

"Anyways, I can't believe you're related to such a pretty girl!" Yuta turned the conversation back to Halle, who was just now starting to feel relieved that she wasn't the center of attention anymore.

Halle's cheeks involuntarily flushed the slightest shade of pink, and she looked away to hide her embarrassment. "Oh, I, uh... I don't know about that."

"Yeah, she's really cute, right?" Kunihiko seemed to disagree with her reluctance to admit it as he let out a jolly laugh, looking very proud as he clapped her on the shoulder that currently wasn't injured. "But you lot keep your hands to yourselves, got it?" Suddenly remembering something, he looked over at Ren. "Oh yeah, Ren, what were you going to say...?"

Ren expressionlessly looked at Kunihiko as he deadpanned, "Ichiro's about to come up to bat."

"What?" Yamato suddenly looked very alert as he stood up from his bar stool, grabbing onto Ren's arm as he dragged him towards the large TV mounted up on the wall. "Don't hold out on telling us things like that. Come on."

"Hey, keep it down! You're bothering Halle..." Kunihiko firmly reprimanded them, looking a little apologetic as he stood next to his niece.

"Oh, they're fine." Halle chuckled adorably, very amused as she watched all of the guys simultaneously crowd around the TV and watch the game, excitedly talking loudly over one another. "The guys here sure like baseball, huh?"

"Yeah..." Kunihiko laughed awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. "I was their Little League coach when they were in elementary school."

"Oh." Halle nodded her head in understanding. "So is that why they watch the games together?"

"Yeah, basically." Kunihiko nodded his head with a quiet smile.

"Are you guys talking about baseball?" Yuta heard their conversation and looked over, then smiled a little as he held his hand out to Halle for her to shake. "Sorry, I didn't really introduce myself earlier. I'm Yuta."

"Nice to meet you." Halle chuckled a little, shaking his hand.

"Do you like baseball?" Yuta curiously asked her with a boyish grin. "If so, we're playing a practice game soon. Why don't you come watch?"

"Umm, sure..." Halle felt a little awkward as she nervously twisted her hair within her fingers. "Although I don't really know much about baseball."

Kunihiko looked a little annoyed as he sighed to Yuta. "Who do you think you are, just asking her out like that?"

Saeki took this opportunity to rejoin the conversation as he casually swung his arm around the back of Yuta's shoulders. "Yuta here looks cute and harmless, but he's fast on the draw." He then suddenly flashed Halle a sexy smirk. "So watch out, Halle."

Yuta looked a little surprised at Saeki as he got on the defensive. "Takes one to know one, Saeki." He laughed a little, shrugging off his arm. "Weren't you hitting on a pretty actress at the TV station just last week?"

"Was I?" A confused expression found its way to Saeki's face as he thoughtfully stroked his chin with his fingers. "I don't remember..."

Yuta just rolled his eyes, not entirely surprised. "Must be nice, being a successful scriptwriter... You can meet all the pretty actresses you want!" He laughed with a big smile on his face.

"Hey, isn't this your TV show, Saeki?" Yamato turned his eyes away from the TV, which was now playing a dramatic soap opera.

"Oh!" Halle's eyes widened in recognition, staring at the TV screen. "Did you write the script for this show, Saeki?" Her lavender-colored eyes fluttered over to look at him, drawing Saeki's immediate attention.

"Yeah, I did." An aura of confidence seemed to surround Saeki now as the smirk never left his lips.

Yuta absentmindedly stared up at the screen as he spoke. "This show had really good ratings."

"Wow." Halle was, to say in the least, impressed. "I can't believe I'm meeting such an accomplished screenwriter."

Yamato scoffed a little at Halle's awe-struck face. "Hey may be, but it's still amazing a guy like Saeki can come up with something so pure and innocent."

"Oh, Yamato." Kunihiko widened his eyes as a thought just suddenly occurred to him. "Didn't you say you had school today?"

Yamato shook his head no. "Just in the morning." He then sighed, pressing his hand to his forehead as he rested his elbow on the bar's counter. "Geez, I worked so hard for a day off, but it's test week, so...oh well."

Halle just shot him an odd look. It was test week? Did that mean he was a university student...?

Yamato caught wind of her strange gaze and just stared back at her dubiously. "Hey, I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm a teacher, a teacher!"

"O-oh..." Halle awkwardly covered her mouth with her hands, trying not to laugh. "Sorry."

"That's pretty funny." Yuta laughed wholeheartedly as he watched this exchange go down. "I'd kill to be as funny as you!"

"That's pretty rich, coming from a professional comedian." Ren's eyes grew wide as he stared at Yuta.

"Comedian?" Halle blinked her eyes owlishly as she looked directly at Yuta now.

"Yeah." Kunihiko butted in. "He's still just starting out, but Yuta here is a comedian."

Halle looked at Yuta with a new-found level of respect. "Oh, really?"

"So I guess that means you don't know who I am?" Yuta chuckled dejectedly as he gauged her reaction, then depressingly stared down at the floor. "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't..."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Halle's hand instantly flew up to cover her mouth once more. "I'm never really at home because I'm always working, so I don't really watch TV, and..."

Yuta snapped his head up and instantly replaced that depressing frown with a bright grin. "Just kidding! I'm not really upset." He laughed a little, enjoying the surprised look on Halle's face. "You're so nice. I'm in a comedy duo called Fukumimi. I've started performing in different places, too."

"Oh!" Halle clapped her hands together excitedly. "Well, then I'll have to start looking out for you on TV!"

Takao then sauntered over with a glass of gin in his hand. "This is from the manger. He said you could probably use it." He placed it down on the bar next to her, smiling all the way.

Halle appeared to be touched as she looked over at the manager, who was smiling while giving her a thumbs up. "Thanks, Mr. Manager... It's like you can tell when I've had a bad day." She chuckled dejectedly before picking up the glass and downing the gin in one gulp, refreshingly sighing once she finished it off and suddenly looked over at Kunihiko. "Oh, I'll pay you for the damages to that table I obliterated, while I'm at it..."

As she motioned to grab her wallet, Kunihiko stopped her by holding out his hand. "Nah, don't worry about it. It's fine."

"Are you sure...?" Halle looked a little reluctant as she put her wallet back into her back pocket. "It really is my fault..."

"Yeah, it's fine!" Kunihiko laughed heartily with a big grin on his face. "I was just starting to think it was getting too cluttered in here, anyways!" He calmed down his laughter and looked over to Takao before lightly punching him in the arm. "Hey, Takao. Hurry up and introduce yourself to the lady, why don't you?"

"Oh!" Takao's innocent, charming nice smile was replaced with a look of surprise as he glanced at Halle. "I guess I haven't properly introduced myself, have I?" He slipped out a business card from his jacket and held it out to her all professional-like. "Nice to meet you. I'm Takao."

"Oh, thanks. Nice to meet you too." Halle looked surprised as she glanced at his business card, cautiously accepting it from him. She was shocked to see such a huge law firm's name on the front of it.

Yuta just shook his head, not surprised. "Of course, Takao'd be all proper, huh."

 _"Nothing_ like Yamato..." Ren commented quietly.

Saeki just scoffed at that. "That's for sure."

"What!?" Yamato drew his head back in shock, looking completely offended.

Takao just lightly chuckled under his breath as he looked at all of them bickering with each other. "They just mean I have common sense."

"Are you saying I don't?" Yamato angrily knitted his brow together as he looked at Takao.

"Achoo!" Ren suddenly let out a hard sneeze, not giving Takao the opportunity to answer that question.

"Bless you." Halle gently patted the top of Ren's head, since he was laying down it on the counter right next to her.

"What's wrong, Ren?" Takao had this 'big brother' look to him as he worriedly glanced at Ren. "Do you have a cold?"

Ren shut his eyes as he mentally prepared himself to take a nap right there on the bar's counter. "I was stuck in the lab all week, so..."

"You're working too hard." Kunihiko looked a little worried as he placed a tissue box by Ren's head.

Yamato just shook his head unbelievably as he stared at Ren. "I don't know how you do it... Researching new medicine is hard work."

"Researching medicine?" Halle whispered her question out loud, only to have it fall on deaf ears.

"Hey, Ren." Saeki butted in, not really acknowledging his current physical state. "When's that pheromone love potion gonna be ready?"

"What!?" Yuta cried out in shock. "I thought you were going to do the medicine to make me funnier first!"

"You're the only one who can make yourself funnier." Ren simply responded with his eyes still closed, half-asleep already.

Yamato looked over at him curiously. "Do you even enjoy it? Developing medicine and stuff?"

"Yeah." A small smile found its way to Ren's lips. "I do it because I love it."

"Wow." Halle was impressed by Ren's occupation, thinking to herself that he must be a really smart person to develop medicine.

Suddenly feeling someone's eyes on her, Halle turned her head to see Saeki just staring right at her.

"I just had a thought." Saeki's mouth fell open in surprise as he spoke. "This girl...might be perfect."

Yuta's eyes snapped wide open at that. "What do you mean?"

"You know." Saeki gave him a smirk as his answer, refusing to explain anything further.

"Oh, right." Yamato suddenly looked interested now, and everyone at the bar fell silent.

"See?" Saeki looked at their faces to gather a consensus of their opinions. "She's perfect, right?"

"I'm _perfect_...?" Halle stared at him dubiously, then scoffed and shook her head a little as she looked off to the wall. "Never heard _that_ one before..." Not having any idea what they were talking about, Halle just listened carefully to gather more clues.

"Yeah!" Yuta agreed, joining in with a smile on his face. "She's pretty, I'm all for it!"

"She's definitely pretty." Takao smiled gently as he gave her a genuine compliment. And for some reason, Halle couldn't keep eye contact with him because he seriously meant it, which left her feeling a little embarrassed.

"Average at best, am I right?" Yamato looked disinterested in her as he spoke.

Kunihiko sighed sharply as he depressingly stared down at the floor. "Are you calling my family _average!?"_ He came up to Halle from behind and picked up her lush, curly black hair as he pressed his face next to hers. "Come on, she's got my family's pretty black hair, and we even have the same eyes!"

Halle tried not to laugh, but she let it slip a little. "Yeah, except I don't have that tiny amount of facial hair on my chin that you proudly call a beard, uncle..."

"Hey!" Kunihiko pulled back and lovingly stroked his 'beard.' "I'm trying to defend you, here! Who's side are you on!?"

Takao chuckled at their playful banter. "She does seem like she'd make a good wife."

...

What?

Did he just say... _wife_ _...?_

"...huh?" Halle blinked owlishly as she picked up on that comment, genuinely confused now.

Everyone's eyes were on her now, and Halle squirmed a little under their gaze. It made her feel uncomfortable knowing that they were all sizing her up, and just around the time she was starting to feel really weirded out by this, Kunihiko clapped his hands together.

"Listen up, everyone." He shook his head as he gained their attention, smiling a little.

"Oh, what's this?" Yuta laughed, interested in what he had to say. "Words of gratitude from the coach?"

"Actually..." Kunihiko trailed off as he began to announce the _real_ reason Halle was here. "Halle came here today to introduce her fiancé to her parents."

No one took notice of the shadow that was suddenly cast over Halle's eyes at the mention of her 'fiancé,' and she slumped her posture a little as she grew unresponsive.

"Fiancé..." Takao's eyes snapped wide open, not having expected that. "So _that's_ why you're here." He then smiled broadly at her, tilting his head to the side. "Congratulations!"

"Umm..." Halle found it rather hard to force the words she wanted to say out of her mouth all of a sudden, and before she could try to explain any further about it, Yuta cut her off.

"Oh, man..." He sighed deeply in disappointment. "I thought she'd be perfect, too!"

"Wow." Yamato looked rather nonchalant despite his surprise as he firmly deadpanned, "I guess there's a shoe for every foot..."

Before Halle could take offense to that quip, Saeki smoothly stepped in.

"I don't care that she has a fiancé." Saeki put himself at her side as he longingly stared up into her eyes. "In fact, that just makes me want her more."

Takao gripped the back of Saeki's collar and pulled him back, looking rather disappointed in his behavior, although he wasn't surprised by it. "Saeki, don't say things like that. It could get you into legal trouble."

"What?" Yuta blurted that thought out loud. "Is Saeki finally getting arrested!?"

Yamato let out a "tsk" sound as he smirked wryly. "The women of the world are all breathing a sigh of relief."

Saeki looked offended by that comment as he spoke. "Though I'd rather not get arrested for no reason."

"So, Halle..." Kunihiko completely ignored their conversation as he turned to look at his niece. "When are your parents coming?"

"About that..." Halle let out an awkward sigh as she ran her fingers loosely through her hair. "They're not...coming."

...

"What!?" Everyone at the bar all shouted their shock in unison, completely surprised by this.

"Why aren't they coming?" Kunihiko had a severe look on his face as he asked her that question, having a very bad feeling about this.

"Oh." Halle looked off to the side awkwardly. "That's probably because I called and told them that the engagement was off."

...

"WHAT!?"

Halle just sighed as the guys all shouted their thoughts aloud once more, and she looked over to the manager standing in the kitchen. "I'll explain everything, but first, I'm gonna need another drink... Mr. Manager!"

* * *

 **Ahhhh, finally... 90% of the prologue is finally done! Sorry this is taking me forever, guys XD I've had a lot going on lately. I got accepted to college, I found out my mother has breast cancer... (Although she just had surgery a couple days ago and got it removed, so she's 100% cancer free now, thank god)**

 **Anyways, point is, I've had a lot on my mind XD sorry I haven't been writing much.**

 **Aaaaaaaanyways...**

 **I'm excited to write the next chapter so much, you have no idea. That's where all the fun stuff happens, where Halle explains why her engagement was broken off, which you guys caught a glimpse of in the story's description. Look forward to this funny chapter seasoned with tears XDDDDD**

 **Read, review, and enjoy waiting for chapter three!**


	3. Chapter 3

"...Halle, are you okay?" Kunihiko shot her a worried look as he watched her down another whole glass of gin in one go.

"Sorry." Halle briskly apologized, looking pretty glum as she stared down at her legs. "It's been a long day..." She slammed the glass down on the counter and clapped her hands together, facing the guys in front of her with a new resolve. "Okay, I'll tell you guys everything."

"Are you okay with that, Halle?" Yuta looked concerned as well, as suggested from the look on his face. "You don't need to spill your personal life to us. You _did_ just meet us."

"No, no, I'm alright." Halle forced a bright smile onto her face, toughing out her feelings. "I promise I'm fine."

"Don't push yourself, okay?" Takao gave her a sympathetic smile, and he watched carefully as Halle took in one big, deep breath.

"Okay, so..." Halle rose her head up to look at everyone. "Uncle Kunihiko already knows this, but I was engaged to a man named Makoto Igarashi for over a year, but we had been together for five." She rested her head in the palm of her hand depressingly. "I was twenty-one and fresh out of college when I met him." She sat up again and looked off to the side, trailing off a little as she was taking things slow.

"It's okay, Halle." Yuta frowned a little, sending her reluctance to re-live what must have been a bad memory. "Take your time."

Halle sighed bitterly with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry... I'm pathetic getting all worked up like this, aren't I?" She covered her face with her hands, harshly rubbing at her eyes to wake herself up. "Anyways... I was supposed to be getting married in three days, so I didn't renew the lease for my apartment, and I was going to move in with Makoto this evening." Her hands fell down to her lap, and she balled them into tight fists. "He was _supposed_ to come over to my place today and help me pack, as well as my best friend and maid of honor, Asumi."

"So what happened?" Yamato looked confused about where this story was going.

"Well..." Halle took in one deep breath, bracing herself for finally saying the words out loud. "I took the day off to get my stuff in order without telling Makoto, and because I wanted to surprise him, I came home earlier than planned." She reached up and rested her hands on the top of her head, and as soon as she did, Halle masked her sadness with a silly smirk as she winked at the guys. "And that was when I caught my fiancé in the act of cheating on me. In my apartment. With my maid of honor. Three days before our wedding."

"Ohhh!" Yuta almost looked physically wounded by that crushing reveal.

"Harsh..." Ren simply frowned, giving his two-cents worth.

"Okay, I actually feel pretty bad for you." Yamato admitted with his eyes wide, dropping any trace of his arrogance and pride that he had up earlier.

"I'm so sorry..." Takao looked like he was the one who had experienced this pain as he sympathized with her. "That's awful..."

Saeki just shrugged his shoulders as an indifferent look came across his face. "If you ask me, I think it's good you found out his character before it was too late."

Kunihiko shot Saeki a warning glare before turning back to Halle. "That bastard..." He balled his hands into tight fists, barely able to control his anger. "What did you do to him?"

A dark, twisted smile found its way to Halle's lips, and it sent a shiver down Kunihiko's spine. "Oh, you shouldn't ask what I did to him. You should really be asking what I did to _her."_

The guys all gulped nervously just a little at that question, but Takao was the first to voice his worry. "What did you do, exactly...?"

Halle opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, a bicycle messenger walked into the bar with an envelope in his hand, looking around for someone. When Halle saw him, she just sighed and waved him over.

"Are you Halle Mitchell?" The man asked her, warily looking the strange biker-chick woman up and down who was sitting on the bar's counter with bloody gauze wrapped tightly around her arm.

"Yeah, that's me." Halle sighed sharply, holding her hand out to him. She honestly didn't look surprised at all as a look of defeat crossed her face. "Well, I knew _this_ was coming... Alright, go ahead and hit me with it."

The man frowned apologetically to her before briskly placing the envelope down in her hand. "Sorry, ma'am, but you've been served."

"Yeah, yeah." Halle paid him no attention as she waved him off, already tearing into the envelope curiously.

Takao just widened his eyes in shock as he slowly stood up from his chair. "Halle, what did you do...!?"

Halle paused while opening the envelope long enough to innocently beam at Takao as angelically as she could. "Why, I punched her in the face so hard that I broke her nose, of course!"

Yamato spit out the swig of beer he just took in a massive spit-take as Yuta completely lost his shit and busted out into a fit of giggles. Kunihiko sighed in defeat and slapped his forehead, not surprised. Saeki was impressed, Ren widened his eyes in shock, and Takao looked almost completely horrified as he worriedly looked at Halle.

"Alright, let's see what the damage is..." Halle winced a little as she cautiously unfolded the papers, and she dropped her jaw as she suddenly jumped up from the counter in shock and stood flat-footed on the floor. "What!? $20,000!? The hell!?" She threw her hands up into the air in horror as she let out her exasperation. "Geez, where did the skinny whore get this estimate from? Am I paying for a boob job as well as the broken nose!?"

Kunihiko just sighed again as Yuta doubled over laughing, and the other guys tried to keep their cool at Halle's sudden outburst.

"Hey, Halle..." Kunihiko bit back his smile as he tried to calm himself down enough to face the situation seriously. "Takao's a lawyer. You should have him represent you."

Halle snapped her eyes wide open and looked from Kunihiko to Takao hopefully. "Would you actually help me? Because unless I do at least fifty more high-paying jobs, there's no way I can afford to pay out $20,000 after what I spent on my now-cancelled wedding..."

Takao smiled kindly and walked over to her, outstretching his hand towards the letter she held. "Here, let me see that." He took the letter from Halle and briefly skimmed over it with a serious look on his face. "Ah. Her medical expenses appear to only be around $5,000 total."

"What!?" Halle's angry voice reached a whole new octive as she squeaked that. "Where the hell did she come up with that extra $15,000 then?"

Takao just sighed as he flatly deadpanned, "she's suing you for punitive damages as well."

Halle just blinked at him as she processed that. "Oh. Well, shit."

Takao almost snorted at that reaction as he handed her the letter back. "I can represent you if you like. I'll do whatever it takes to get these charges dropped. At the very least, I can reduce your damages to $5,000; just enough to cover her medical expenses."

Halle stared at Takao in absolute awe as she clapped her hands together, looking completely hopeful once again. "Can you really do that!?"

Yamato took this opportunity to butt in as he simply looked up from his beer. "Takao's the best there is. If anyone can help you, it's him."

"Thank you so much!" Halle excitedly clapped her hands together, then quickly slumped her posture and frowned. "Oh, but I can't pay you... As I mentioned earlier, I'm pretty much broke at the moment."

Takao expected this answer, and he just smiled. "That's alright. I'll take on your case pro bono."

Halle's whole face erupted into the brightest, most stunning grin ever as she excitedly leapt into Takao's arms and wrapped hers tightly around his neck in a big hug. "Oh my god, thank you so much! Seriously, you're my hero."

"Whoa." Yuta laughed a little under his breath, looking the two up and down. "Didn't realize you were so smooth, Takao."

Takao was awkward at first at Halle suddenly jumping on him to hug him, but he grinned bashfully as he returned the hug and looked over at the other guys. "I just saw the look on her face, and before I knew it, I was already asking about her case..."

Yamato just shook his head and lightly chuckled to himself, turning his attention back down to his beer. "That's the lawyer in you. Always wanting to help people in need."

Kunihiko suddenly thought of something at Yamato's words, and as he watched Halle release Takao from her death grip of a hug, he cautiously crossed his arms over his chest. "Actually, I have an idea of a way Halle can repay you, Takao. Aren't you kinda in the same boat?"

Halle's eyes darted back and forth between her uncle and Takao as her confusion set in. "The same boat...? What do you mean?"

Takao widened his eyes in shock, and he shook his head no as a warning to Kunihiko not to say anything further. "Kuni, that's..."

Kunihiko grinned a little as he gave Takao the nudge he needed to speak further. "Come on, you might as well tell her at this point."

Takao looked hesitant as he stared down at the floor for a moment, but then he finally came to a decision as he placed a hand on Halle's shoulder. "Halle."

"Yes?" The seriousness in Takao's face made Halle correct her posture, and she just stared at him with wide-eyes at his sudden shift in mood.

"There's something I'd like to ask of you." Takao beat around the bush a little, nervous about how well she'd take this.

"...okay." Halle laughed a little nervously, then clapped her hands in front of Takao in order to prompt him to continue. "On with it. Spit it out!"

Takao looked directly into her lavender eyes as he decided to just go for it. "Will you be my fiancé?"

Halle's smile shattered as she stared at Takao in complete shock. "...what."

* * *

 **Ahhhh, sorry long time no update! This hasn't been one of my priorities in a while, but it is now!**

 **So, anyways... Holy shit, right? Poor Halle XD I can't even imagine what she's going through. So much happened in this chapter! Her ex fiancé is a total scumbag, poor baby is being sued by the bitch who broke up her engagement when Halle already spent whatever she had on a wedding that's no longer happening, and now a stranger just proposed to her. What's in store for our heroine next? You'll just have to wait patiently to see!**

 **Read, review, and enjoy :)**


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